Kenya is touted as one of the significant ICT hubs in Africa. By most standards, Kenya is quite advanced on the technology platform, and this means that we are supposed to be given some form of priority whenever devices get released on the in such events as Mobile World Congress, CES, and such other events. Unfortunately, Kenya misses out on some of the most decent devices for reasons that are not clearly fathomable. In this countdown, let us look at some of the most notable omissions that would be great to have here in Kenya but they are officially unavailable. The most expensive phone in this list is the OnePlus One that goes for about $300 (Kshs. 25000).
- Motorola Moto G.
Motorola’s Moto G easily takes the lead as the best-rounded handset that matches quality verses affordability. By most standards, the Moto G fills every segment pretty well, and tops it off with a price that is just unbelievable. Below is the rundown of the Moto G specs:
- 4.5 inch IPS display, 720 by 1280 (720p) with 326 ppi (same as Apple’s retina display).
- Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
- 1GB RAM, 8/16GB internal memory.
- 5MP Rear Camera, 1.3MP Front Camera.
- 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 CPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Chipset.
- 2070mAh Battery.
- Adreno 305 GPU.
All these for a phone that goes for about Kshs. 15000 is quite a bargain. Unfortunately, it is not officially available in Kenya, and the few units available are exceedingly overpriced up to Kshs. 37000! Hopefully, the second generation that is already out will be stocked in Kenya.
- Motorola Moto E.
Another of Motorola’s budget conscious devices, the Moto E is touted as the king of budget smartphones. It retails at approximately $130 (Kshs. 11500), and this for a phone that could easily take on phones that cost double its price and still come out pretty strong. Here are its core specs:
- 4.3inch 540 by 960 IPS display (256 ppi density).
- 1GB RAM, 4GB internal, expandable via a micro SD up to 32GB.
- 5MP Camera.
- Dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Chipset.
- Adreno 302.
- Non-removable Li-ion 1980mAh battery.
These specs versus the price point highlight the value for money that the Moto E presents, but you will not get it that easily in Kenya, and the few places that you manage to get it will charge you almost Kshs. 15000.
- OnePlus One.
This is the priciest device on this list, but fortunately, it is still value for money despite the relatively high price by Kenyan standards. OnePlus as a company is a spinoff of Oppo, yet another company that is new in the market but creating ripples with its innovative devices. The OnePlus One is a beast of a device as highlighted by the following specs:
- 5.5inch 1080p screen (1080 by 1920), 401ppi pixel density.
- Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
- 3GB RAM, 16/64GB internal storage.
- 13MP Rear Camera, 5MP front camera.
- Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 CPU
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Chipset.
- Adreno 330 GPU.
- Non-removable Li-Po 3100mAh battery.
These specs match the likes of the Galaxy S5 and the Note 3, even beating them in some aspects such as battery size, yet costing less than half of what Samsung asks for its flagships. Unfortunately, having the money to buy the device is not all it takes, as there is a ridiculous invite system that defines how the device is sold, hence its absence in the Kenyan market.
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G.
This is a device from Xiaomi, a Chinese company that has largely been accused of copying Apple. Apart from the ugly accusations, the company has been in the light for the relatively budget conscious pricing of its phones despite the good specs that they some with. In fact, it has become so much of a successful company that it is the third behind Apple and Samsung. The Redmi Note 4G is one of its offerings. It goes for at most $300 (Kshs. 25000), and for this price you get to enjoy the following:
- 5.5inch IPS Display, 720 by 1280 (720p), 267ppi density.
- 2GB RAM, 8GB internal, expandable by micro SD card up to 64GB.
- 13MP Rear Camera, 5MP Front Selfie Camera.
- Quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A7 CPU.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Chipset.
- Adreno 305 GPU.
- Li-Po 3200mAh battery.
As the OnePlus One, these specs pretty much match the Note 3 and the Galaxy S5, but the price is less than half. However, Xiaomi is yet to venture into other markets other than China, thereby making this device unavailable in Kenya.
- Motorola Moto G (2014).
Motorola still makes it again on this list courtesy of its 2014 variant of the original Moto G. This new device brings major improvements to the already stellar original Moto G while retaining the price at a relatively affordable point. Below are the specs of the 2nd Generation Motorola Moto G:
- 5.0inch IPS Display (720 by 1280) 294ppi pixel density.
- Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
- 1GB RAM, 8/16GB Internal, expandable up to 32GB.
- 8MP Rear Camera, 2MP Front Camera.
- Quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 CPU.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Chipset.
- Adreno 305 GPU.
- Non-removable Li-ion 2070 mAh battery.
Following the above run-down, it is easy to argue that Tecno, Wiko, or the likes of Infinix offer competitive devices at the same price points, but what makes these devices stand out is the solid manufacturer support that they come with. As an example, all the Motorola devices listed above will get Android 5.0 Lollipop. It is not easy to say the same for most of the Tecnos, Infinix, or Wiko devices out there.
Only nerds know about the one plus one
Hahah true